


We Only Come Out At Night

by SunshineInChains



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fluff, Galaxy Garrison, Hoverbike Riding, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, This is kind of an AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a lot of inaccuracies, i guess, nothing much but it's there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:20:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10076846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineInChains/pseuds/SunshineInChains
Summary: Lance has the tedency to wander around Garrison at night to get himself together. One of those nights he finds Keith, and from that on they start to encounter each other more frequently they would like to admit.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is pretty much new to me. This is my first time posting any fanfiction at all and my first time writing Voltron. This is mostly an exercise for me to train my english writing. That is another thing: english is not my first language so there might be some (a lot of) mistakes, and it would be awesome (and super sweet) of you guys to give me some feedback on what is wrong, what needs to be improved and all that.  
> Anyway, enjoy those losers, I had a good time writing them.  
> P.S.: The work tittle is a Smashing Pumpkins' song (that has nothing to do with the fic, but I like the song and I like the tittle)

From his point of view, Lance never thought of himself as a coward. Of course not! He was a fighter, and above all an adventurer. Always searching for new things, some kind of trouble to get into, something new and exciting to get his mind out of the pressure of being at the best military organization with astro explorers training program on earth **,** to distract him from the pain that was being away from home. 

It felt so much easier to pretend he was happy all the time when he wasn't focusing on the things that were eating him alive. 

So whenever he felt like taking a break to get himself together, he left the campus to walk around for a bit after the curfew, those hours when everything is quiet, the silence is comforting instead of oppressive, and darkness becomes a blanket covering the pretences he exposes on sunlight. It became harder with time, but as always, he manages. 

It was one of those night, when his thought were too loud to himself and he needed his therapeutic walks. Lance haven’t elaborated a plan, perhaps going to that place on the roof that was a hiding point, with a good view of the desert and the night stars, nothing too risky. He was feeling antsy lately, even Hunk knew he needed one of his wanderings, and told him that he would cover Lance if anything happened, bless his heart. He was so lucky to have a friend like him, it felt almost like a dream.

He checked the hallway, and started to walk quickly trying to cover his surroundings as much as he could to prevent any inspector surprising him. That’s when he saw a shadow, sneaking around the corner heading to the south exit **.** Whoever it was, they were fast but not very stealthy, too eager to reach their destination they forgot to keep their steps silents and that simply could not be good. This person was too close, if they got caught there was no way Lance could get away in time, or if he did it would be a lost cause anyway, his sneaky adventure would be over for the night. So no, he had to reach for that person and… do something. He didn’t know exactly what, but he knew that person must be stopped. 

Checking the hallways one more time, he ran as fast and as silently as he could to the person, that’s when he caught the view of a very known mullet. 

Keith. Of course. 

“What are you doing here”, Lance gritted between his teeth while grabbing the boy by his arm. 

“What the f-! Who are you?! What are you doing?”, a very confused Keith glared at him, and Lance glared back. He would not let his guard down, and he would not let Mullet Boy ruin his night. 

If he was honest it was unfair. They barely knew each other, if Keith knew him at all - which, as it seemed, he didn’t. It stung a little bit, but it’s not as if they have got the time to know each other, Lance only knew of the boy because Keith caught his attention.

They are sharing a few classed together this semester, and has been only for a few weeks, but Keith was already exceptional - something that he seemed to do effortlessly. And there was an aura in him, it was magnetic, Lance couldn’t take his eyes away from him, in all his extraordinary broodiness, and antisocial tendencies. He never talked to anyone in class, and in the whole Garrison the only person he talked to was the senior officer Shirogane. Keith was a mystery Lance would love to solve, and his looks were something else. 

Back to the present, Keith was still glaring at him, and he seemed pretty pissed off. Oops! Better answer him. 

“Dude! Are you insane? You can’t just walk around like that!”, he answered a little exasperated.

“So what? It’s not like you can do as you please too”, Keith looked him from head to toe, with a very judging look, as if he was superior to Lance. That pissed him off. 

“Now listen here, you little--”, He was unable to finish his sentence as Keith was already on him, covering his mouth. Before he could scream in outrage, or push Keith with all the intentions of breaking his nose, he was already being dragged to a gap in the wall, covering them in the shadows. 

“Shut up! Someone is coming”, Keith warned, and kept his hand on Lance’s mouth.

It was an awkward situation, and he could make a witty remark, say some of his famous pick up lines, or anything really, but there was something about Keith - besides his hand shutting him up - that made him go quiet. He knew he couldn’t make an ass of himself now, that he had to say something, had to do something to Keith to one up him, but he couldn’t. All he could do was stare at Keith, look the few details of his face that were visible in the darkness, feel his body lightly pushed against his, the heat emanating from the boy, from his hand. 

Lance felt something pull at his stomach, and an adrenaline rush cover his being. His heart picked up an unknown pace, beating wildly in his chest in a way that almost hurt, and it took his breath away. He swallowed the sudden dryness on his throat, and tried to get some control over himself. This was dangerous, too dangerous. 

It all happened on a few seconds, seconds that passed all too slow, and yet on a rush that made him dizzy. 

What the heck?!

“Alright, all clear”, Keith finally said, letting him go all too soon. 

Wait. No, he let go perfectly on time. Pull yourself together, Lance!

It took him longer than he would like to admit to get back on his tracks, but he made it in time to see Keith looking around, all too embarassed to pretend that what happened wasn’t big deal. And it wasn’t! It was just awkward but he had to admit, Lance never thought he would live to see Keith blushing, but there it is, and it was kind of adorable. Pink was covering his usually pale cheeks and his nose, yet he kept sulking and looking everywhere but Lance, with his arms crossed. He cleared his throat and took one step back, clearly trying to walk away from the awkward moment.

“Wait!”, Lance said before he could stop himself, and Keith still couldn’t look at his face, but at least was facing his direction. “Where are you going?”  
“None of you business.”  
“Hey, calm down”, He said defensively, putting his hand up in surrender. “I was only trying to be nice, geez!”

“Why do you want to know?”, Keith was suspicious, but considering their situation, it wasn’t entirely unacceptable. 

“ Don’t worry, dude, I won’t tell anybody.”, Lance said with an easy smile on his face, trying to ease the tension weighting on the other boy’s shoulders. 

Keith only response was an uncommitted grunt, and silence fell upon them. It was awkward, and empty, but there was nothing else to do but part ways. 

“I guess I’ll get going now…”, Lance broke the silence, waving his hands nowhere in particular. 

“Yeah.” 

Was this guy serious?! He didn’t know why it suddenly bothered him, but it was late enough and he didn’t feel like getting to the roof anymore. His mood was killed, the night was over, and this guy was the responsible for it. Lance felt like screaming, but it wasn’t worth the trouble. It would have to postpone to another day. 

“Alright then, goodnight I guess? Don’t get caught”, Lance said as he started to walk away, but Keith stopped him with a hand on his elbow.

“So just we’re clear, we’re never talking about this again”, he said very seriously, with a hint of a threat that Lance couldn’t find himself to care, but he nodded anyway, and it was enough for Keith. 

And they did not, in fact, talked about it again, but it wasn’t the end of their late night accidental encounters. 

By day, they never mentioned it, too afraid to say too much and someone find out and getting them into trouble. It was as if it never happened - except those moments when they caught themselves looking at each other, very briefly, enough for them to notice it, but no one else. That could mean anything, but mostly it was just some sort of acknowledgment of their presence in the same room. Some nights though, they still crossed their paths, and it got Lance thinking about how it never happened before, and why couldn’t they stop doing it now. 

Latter, it became a  _ thing _ , this encounters, those little moments that felt like something. Lance liked it, like it was their own little secret. The never got to see what the other did after they crossed paths, but they got used to each other’s presence.

It was nothing much. In the beginning it was irregular, the encounters spaced between one another, until it became too frequent and too regular to be coincidence. Lance found himself more inclined to take that particular passage he took that first night, walking around at night more frequently, tried to fool himself into thinking that he wasn’t trying to find Keith, that he wasn’t looking forward to it, that he didn’t like talking to him - brief moments that started to be longer, less silent, and more comfortable. He just liked having that thing with Keith, whatever it was. His growing crush had nothing to do with it, of course. He would deny it, but he knew that most of his late night walks were now dedicated to searching Keith, and building the courage to ask him out. He could do it. It was going to be anytime soon.

Well, until Keith beat him to it. 

“But i was going to ask you out first!”, Lance whined, trying to as dramatic as he could while hiding from the night patrol. It was a risk, but he got a soft chuckle from Keith, and it was all worth it. 

“Well, you didn’t”, Keith said simply, now with a little smirk on his face that Lance came to like so much. “C’mon Lance! Come with me, please?”  
And how could he say no to that. 

“And where are we going, exactly?”, he was so curious. Keith didn’t tell him, but he knew he finally was going to see where Keith went all those nights after their encounters. 

“Wait, and you’ll see”, his expression never fade, and now his eyes sparkled with excitement. 

He seemed so proud, so happy, it was breathtaking. Lance couldn't help but think that he was part of the reason Keith seemed so mirthful, and boy didn’t that make him all bubbly inside. 

Together they start walking towards the south exit silently, aware of any sounds heading their way, carefully searching the hallways until they reach their destiny, and Lance felt nervous. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling like this, so excited and anxious, his body shaking from excitement, as if there was some energy in him waiting for explode, and each time he glanced at Keith, the feeling seemed to grow stronger. It was amazing, and a bit scary, but he was the kind of guy who lived for the thrill, so it was safe to say he was having the time of his life. 

At some point they stop and watch over the place, searching for guards or anything that might stop come on their way. 

The place was mostly empty, the only sign of life being a man sitting on the entrance in front of the monitor showing the school grounds, softly snoring, unaware of the two teenagers sneaking past him towards the barrier. 

It shouldn’t be this easy to walk out of school grounds, considering it was a military facility, but the hardest part was yet to get through. They still had to go past the watchtower, and only then they would be free. Once again Lance felt the spike of adrenaline running through him, his heartbeat was out of control, and he felt like laughing. To steady himself he gripped at Keith’s arm, setting his heart aflame all the same, but Lance felt calmer, more grounded, and all it took was an assuring smile with sparkled eyes to have an adrenaline rush all over again - even so it felt different, warmer, he could do nothing but smile back. 

Apparently, Keith has done this enough times to know the routine, the pattern of the blinding beacon lights, and the places covered enough by shadows to walk away without problems. Once they were out, Lance was still a bit winded. He was used to making his escapades, but they were never out of school grounds, he was still learning the secret corners and perfect hiding spots in Garrison. Well, there he was now, and he couldn’t find figure what Keith’s plan was, only kept following him alongside the walls of the academy until they spot what, apparently, was what Keith was looking for. 

“There it is! Come on, Lance!”, he said excitedly and began to run towards whatever it was hidden in the shadows beneath a blanket. Lance followed him on the same pace, but halted before reaching it. 

“That’s it?”, he said unimpressed, and the other boy, giving him cryptic smile, pulled the blanket, revealing a red hoverbike with white details. Lance blew a low whistle making Keith chuckle a bit. 

“Glad you like it”, he said smiling - we was all too smiley tonight, it would be weird if it wasn’t so heartwarming. “Now c’mon, get up”, he said while straddling the seat. 

“On the bike?”, it was all Lance could say, because that implied that he was going on a ride. On that hoverbike. With Keith. Like, he would have to sit behind Keith and hold him. That would happen. That’s what was going on. 

“Yes, Lance, where else?”, and it seemed all so simple to him. He could at least be respectful and let Lance have his very moderate internal freak out, thank you very much. 

He had to think about some answer instead of just standing there like a loser, because he wanted -  _ god  _ he wanted so much- to get on that bike, but there was too much to process at the moment and his brain went a bit off-line. Anytime now, brain.

“But what if we get caught”

Great!  _ Now  _ you don’t look like a loser at all, good job brain, always can count on you. 

“We’re not”, Keith said with finality, and Lance had to look at him a bit uncertain. “I’ve done this before, remember!”

Well, he didn’t, because he never was there to see, but he trusted Keith, so he simply shrugged and  straddled the seat just behind Keith, trying not to think much about what he was about to do. Taking a deep breath, he wraps his arms around Keith’s warm body, holding him tight, slightly shaking due the cold night and excitement for his adventure. There was something else, there was a thrill about being so close to Keith, about embracing him and having the opportunity to feel him, the movement of his ribs as he breath, his warmth, and how he was shaking too, just a little bit. It felt like they fitted, it felt like they were perfect being just like this. His heart did the same summersault just like the first night they’ve met, like it did all the other times they’ve met as well, stealing his breath, beating in this new rhythm that seemed to beat only for him, only for Keith. 

He starts the engine and they take-off, flying through the pitch black night, their only source of light being the stars and the headlight of the hoverbike. The wind blows wildly, mussing their hair and roaring in their ears, Lance winces inwardly at their irresponsibility - Hunk would give him an earful if he knew they forgot the helmets. And yet he couldn’t find in himself to care about any of this - not when he can rest his chin on Keith shoulders, and feel his hair caressing his cheek, inhale his unique scent and simply close his eyes, feeling something good inside of him, a happiness so carefree and simple. When was the last time he felt like that? 

After a while the darkness of the desert and the stars were slowly replaced by the pale colours of dawn creeping in. At distance the impending sun paint the sky with a whole new palette, shining through the few clouds that glisten in purple, pink and orange, adorning the easy fading blue. Beneath the humming of the engine, there the soft chirping of the few birds living in the area, bit by bit, so far away. The first rays of dawn reaches the young men’s bright and content faces, while they still ride together leaving responsibilities, insecurities and all their worries behind. There’s peace at that moment, it feels like they can finally breathe, in sync as if they were the same. There’s no cold anymore, the bodies seeking the heat from each other, the blow from the wind refreshing, emancipating. 

And in a moment that seems to come too soon, and yet have taken forever to come, Keith stops, and they both get off the hoverbike. He turn to Lance and they both stare at each other, taking their time in starting to do anything - everything seems so slow and soft, as in a dream, and Lance is having a hard time believing any of this is real. He watches Keith, swearing to himself that he never saw anything more beautiful until that moment of his life. The miracle of dawn not comparing to his gladsome face, flushed from the ride, with a brightness in his eyes that could only mean happiness, so full of life and joy, as if that person right in front of him was the real Keith. The pale light bathed his face angelically, softly, like on a painting. How could this boy be real? Not a dream, or a piece of art, but someone who there, reachable, and warm and soft. 

Lance gets closer to him, he had to. To prove this wasn’t an illusion, to feel Keith once more, like he felt during that ride, like he felt that first time, that seemed so far away, and so present in his mind. Keith kept staring at him, seeming a little breathless, not knowing what to do next, but lets him get closer, until they’re only few inches apart. Lance raises his hand, hovering close to Keith’s face, their eyes locked. 

“C-can I”, Lance whispered softly, as if afraid that if he talks too loud, too sudden, all of this will disappear. The other boy blushes and faintly nods, giving him permission, and so he does, holding the pale face between his hands, stroking his cheeks and smiling like an idiot. Keith smiles back, stupidly in love. How could he like such a ridiculous guy? Ridiculously handsome, and attractive, and yet so cute. How can he be so smitten, when he doesn’t know if it’s to sudden or as if no time has passed at all? Does it even matter? 

As if it was possible, Keith comes even closer, asking with his eyes the questions he wanted to make for a long time already. 

_ Can I kiss you? _

Lance only closes his eyes, and dips into a much expected kiss. It it soft, as the shades that paints the sky, very slow and tentative, as they try to feel the lips they dreamed of for a long time, adjusting to the shape of each other. Keith’s lips are bit chapped, but they’re still sweet and inviting. They’re gentle, and soft and addictive, Lance want to never again part from those lips. They kiss again, and again, few open mouthed kisses that make them want to get even closer, to mingle their breaths, heat and heartbeat, make them want to never come back. Keith enlace Lance’s hips, making them flush together, keeping them together, kissing slow and calmly. 

They finally part from each other, Keith still holding Lance’s hips, as the boy rest his arms around his neck. They simply smile for a while, one admiring the other, the moment so sweet that it seems that no words are needed, they just know. It’s so peaceful, and it seems as though the world was made for them, and for that moment, so they can be just like that. 

They kiss once again, this time deeper, more daring, exploring each others mouths at their own pace, the throbbing need growing more impatient, but they don't rush, still stuck on their own rhythm. Lance’s hand reaches for Keith's hair, caressing it with slows movements, the other hand in his lower back, bringing the boy as close as he could, never wanting to let go. 

When they part again it’s thanks to Keith’s phone blasting the alarm, warning them that they have to go back. It’s all too sudden, the reality crashing upon their heads, making them disoriented. Lance laughs and Keith smile at him, a little shy. Sighing, he reaches for a last hug before they go back to their lives. They ride back to Garrison with the dawn of a new day, and the bloom of a new relationship. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my fic! I'm glad you reached the end and choose to read this work, so thank you and have a good (insert time zone you're in right now)!


End file.
